23 June 2009

Day 32


Provins Castle, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

34 Kilometers.
I walked for the first couple of kilometers, in order to find my direction and trick my legs into moving again. The tendinitis in my right shin has really calmed down, but I have some compensation pain in my left ankle now. I am trying to take it a little bit easy so that I can hopefully get over it all. The weather was perfect for running, and I once again found myself running through the middle of the beautiful French countryside. Today though, the sky was just as exciting as the land. Fields of cumulus clouds drew my eyes up from the fields of green, and the occasional twist in my ankle had to remind me that I should look where I am going.
I got into Provins around noon, and after drinking two boxed chocolate milks, a bottle of Powerade and a 1.5 liter bottle of water, I started checking out the sites. Provins happens to be a UNESCO world heritage site, and is full of little medieval wonders. I stayed away from the costumed shows of chivalry and birds, and just wandered around the architecture. I stopped by the church of Saint Quiriace, where Jean d'Arc stopped for mass is 1429. It is given its name because supposedly some dude brought the head of Judas (Quiriace) here a thousand years ago from Palestine. I don't really understand how those things work.
I went to the Caesar's Tower, the central tower in town, and then walked around the exterior walls of the castle until around 4 when I would be able to go into the tunnels. This town would be a great place to find a hidden sleeping place (I already had a place to stay though), and I spent most of the afternoon climbing up into abandoned staircases to see if they went anywhere. Mostly they went to brick walls. No luck finding a magical hidden treasure or anything like that.
At 4 I went to the tunnels, which were originally used to extract a clay that was used for degreasing wool cloth in the Middle Ages. Much later, the tunnels were used for hideouts, cellars and meetings of secret societies. Now it is an UNESCO site and is used as a place where you can't take photos. I love tunnels, probably derived from my time at Columbia and from being a kid in general. Despite being on a guided tour, it was still pretty exciting. The most prized possession in the tunnels is the old graffiti, which is protected by plexiglass to prevent any new graffiti from becoming interesting a couple hundred years from now.
In the evening I met up with my couchsurfing host Janvier, who is younger than I am but incredibly interesting. Many people came in and out, most of which were some sort of musician or rave planner. Janvier and I exchanged some music, and he introduced me to the many varieties of a music that I would normally just call "techno." Hardtek, hardcore, and many combinations of other syllables with the words "hard" and "core" . I went to bed around 1, spending the later hours of the evening discussing the origins of religion and the inevitable end of the world as we know it...a seriously involved conversation. Fortunately Janvier's English is much better than my French.

39 comments:

  1. Started following this a few days ago... and Damn, it's cool xD

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi
    Love your blog, u schould come to Norway some day.
    SP:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sorry you didn't find any hidden treasure - but I'm glad you found a computer to post on! And surely sleeping on a couch is better than sleeping in a tunnel!

    ReplyDelete
  4. the sky looks so intriguing... no wonder u could barely keep your eyes off it!

    ~ wishing u all the best from saudia arabia

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so glad I came accross your blog. I really like the detail you go into on your travels.

    Looking forward to more posts!

    ReplyDelete
  6. About the head, I mean seriously, how normal was it back then to just travel with a severed head. I can't even get on plane with a bottle of water, imagine if I tried to get my severed head through security. I would have to imagine that would warrant a pat down!

    ReplyDelete
  7. French castles are fantastic...
    Have Jean D'arc been there in the Provins?
    I didn't know that. It's amazing where you going. Your going along all kind of interesting places...
    I'm kind of jealous, i do like France.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This blog is awesome! I am so happy I stumbled upon it. What a fabulous way to see Europe and meet people.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm going to have to agree with Boomka. A head? Really? I mean...how do you convince someone that the head you are carrying is really that old? And that it didn't come from some guy the next town over? It's a good thing that I didn't live back then, or I think I would have made a brisk trade in "relics."

    ReplyDelete
  10. hey ryan, I've been reading your posts since you were featured on bwog and I know I must be the 1000000000th person to tell you this but you are amazing! i've always thought about doing something like this and seeing you take this trip I'm getting really excited to plan my own. except without the running. definitely not the running...
    good luck! and if you ever miss the mundane college life, here's a little you can read up about poor college students at columbia: poorcollegestudentblog.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm glad to hear that the pain has eased man!
    Also discussing aspects of religion with people at times is quite awkward, but if they're comfortable..why not go all out?? :)
    Trudge on.

    ReplyDelete
  12. wow that is so cool how you went there!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Woah. I'm jealous of your adventure. It seems so surreal. Good luck to you on the rest of your journey. Looking forward to more posts.

    -Shannon
    U.S.A.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love reading about your trip. I cannot believe you run so much each and every day, esp. with tendinitis. Run/write on!

    http://nevercomehome.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Those cumulus clouds look ridiculously awesome. I wonder how the stars look at night....

    -Good Luck from Orlando, Florida

    ReplyDelete
  16. You have got to get more pictures up of the scenery. You are running through some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Do them a little justice. Take more pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Read about you on bwog, think what you are doing is awesome...I'm couchsurfing in August and can't wait! Good luck and take care of yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good luck and take care of yourself during your trip!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey!! great blog! amazing trip :) Have you been to Romania yet? if not check it out here : http://decesuntromaniiceimaitari.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Ryan!
    You have some money to spend! Please send me any...just jokes...

    il Fuzz

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow. What a trek through Europe. I'd love to try this out, but my holidays are winding up...

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Ryan,
    you should come to Indonesia for traveling someday, you know Bali, yeah it is very beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Just found your blog and I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great post. I enjoy reading day to day discoveries. Some people have done what you are doing, without running, but by walking. It is called: a pelerinage. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yet another great post! I really wish I could do what you are doing.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I wish I could do what you are doing! Have a great run, I will send your post to friends of mine in France. Maybe they can help you too.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wow man runnign all over europe like that must take some testicular fortitude. kick as hard as you can and keep blogging about it its very inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I just stumbled upon this blog under the 'notables'. I'm new to blogging? Anyway, this is really inspiring. I've also taken note of your keen sense of human nature. You're a terrific writer as well. Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Provins sounds amazing.
    Interesting stuff you saw to!
    Have fun on tomorrow's journey!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Like the blog, I may be in amsterdam in November!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Haha, I love your quote: "The tendinitis in my right shin has really calmed down, but I have some compensation pain in my left ankle now."

    Great blogging, keep up the great pace you're setting!

    ReplyDelete
  32. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  33. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  34. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete